Compartment comb



Sept. 2, 1952 w. J. MARTINO COMPARTMENT COMB Filed June 15, 1950 INVENTOR. WILLIAM J. MARTINO Patented Sept. 2, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GOMPAR'EMENT COMB William J. Martino, Garden City, Mich.

Application June 15, 1950, Serial No. 168,197

1 The present invention relates to a compart-= ment comb having a hollow container particularly adapted to contain hairpins or other small articles, and wherein such container is pivotally attached to the body of the comb and is adapted to swing out of alignrnent'with the body of the comb when access to the container is desired.

Many compartment comb constructions have been developed, but most of the constructions utilize compartments having sliding covers. These compartments usually render the back of the comb bulky. Further, sliding of the covers within the necessary track portions has been found difficult and if the cover and track are not made with precision, sticking often results. In additiomthe constructions are often expensive to manufacture, and hence, many of the patented constructions have never been manufactured.

Therefore, a primary object of the present in-' vention is to provide an improved compartment comb of simplified and economical construction wherein a container is provided which aligns with the body of the comb in the closed position and is adapted to be swung at an angle to the body of the comb on pivotal connection therewith when access to the container is desired.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a compartment comb wherein the container is shaped to fit into the contour of the body of the comb in the closed position, thus avoiding entangling the hair during combing and providing an integral body portion free of protrusions and objectionable flanges, covers and the like.

Another object of the present invention 'is to provide such a compartment comb wherein the container and comb are molded separately of plastic, the plastic body portion of the comb being readily sprung so that the container may be snapped into place.

It is another object of the present invention to provide such a construction wherein a simple locking device is provided as an integral part of the receptacle and comb body.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a compartment comb including a container which is disposed within the comb body and is movable relative thereto to provide access to the interior of the container.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several Views.

' 6 Claims. (01.132-73l In the drawings? 1 Fig. l is a side elevation of a compartment comb embodying the present invention, with a portion of the container being broken away to reveal the internal construction.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the comb shown in Fig. l, with the open positions of the container shown in phantom.

Fig. 3 is a sectionalelevation taken along the line 3-3 in the direction of the arrows, in Fig. 1..

Before explaining the present invention in detail'it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood thatthe phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and, not of limitation.

Referring to the drawings, a comb preferably formed of plastic, is shown having a body it and teeth H aliixed thereto. The body ill is provided with an elongated opening l2 extending transversely therethrough. At substantially the middle point of the opening 12, an internal upper seat [3 and an internal lower seat is are provided. Near one end of the opening 22, a recess i5 is provided.

A container IE is formed separate from said comb and is preferably molded of plastic. The container is preferably rectangular in cross section with rounded corners. However, other con .iigurations may be used without departing from in the body it of the comb.

As previously stated, the comb and container are preferably formed of plastic and can be made of separate colors, if desired, to give a unique and attractive appearance to the entire compartment comb. The device is assembled by aligning the container I6 with the opening ii in the comb and then exerting a force against the container Hi. The pins H and 58 will spring the plastic body portion adjacent the opening 52 out of the Way until the pins 5'. and i8 locate in the internal seats is and it. At this point, the plastic body portion adjacent the opening l2 will spring back into position and the comb is ready for use.

The recess I5 in the back H] of the comb provides a tight fit with the lug I 9 on the container l6 so that the container is locked in the closed position against accidental pivoting. When it is desired to remove articles from the inside of the container, the container I6 is pressed along one side or the other near one of the ends and the container will pivot to the dotted line positions shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

From the above description, it will be seen that I have provided a simple and efiicient compartment comb which is formed of only two parts. This construction is readily adaptable to mass production at low cost so that the comb may be marketed at a low price. The construction provides an integral attractive design and permits a two tone appearance, if desired. Further,

the construction is not only simple to manufacture, but is also extremely simple to assemble.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: 1. In a compartment comb, the combination of a body portion therein having an elongated transverse opening therethrough, a hollow container having an open end pivotally disposed within said transverse opening, said container being adapted to align with the body portion in the closed position and being adapted to move about its pivot axis to an angle transverse to v the longitudinal axis of the body in the open position, thus providing access to the open end of the container in the open position.

2. A compartment comb as claimed in claim 1 and further characterized in that the pivot axis is located substantially in the center of said container.

3. A compartment comb as claimed in claim 1 and further characterized in that locking means are provided to hold said container within the opening in said comb body in the closed position.

4. A compartment comb as claimed in claim 3 and further characterized in that the locking means comprise a lug formed near one end of said container which is adapted to seat in a recess in said comb body.

5. A compartment comb as claimed in claim 1 and further characterized in that said container is shaped to conform to the contour of the comb body so that an integral body portion is provided when the container is in the closed position. 7 6. A compartment comb comprising a comb body having an elongated transverse opening therethrough, the body of said comb contiguous to the top and the bottom of said opening being provided with vertically aligned seats and a portion of said comb body contiguous to the opening also being provided with a recess, a container of a configuration which blends with the contour of the comb body in the closed position and having a pin extending at opposed points from the top and bottom of said container, said pins being adapted to seat in the seats provided in said comb body, said container also having a lug extending therefrom which is adapted to mate with the recess in said comb body to provide a locking means.

WILLIAM J. MARTINO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,191,2-5 Harmon Feb. 20, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 157,194 Switzerland Nov. 16, 1932 

